(left to right:  Rachael Anderson, Emma Stevens, Rachael Karker)

“The Olympics are the ultimate dream.” So says young Canadian Slopestyle skier Max Moffat. The NextGen team member moved west to Calgary from Caledon, Ontario two years ago to train at what he says is the best halfpipe facility in Canada, located at WinSport. Given that that the slopestyle ski event was only added to the Olympic program in 2014, the ultimate dream has evolved at a record pace.

Freestyle Canada has moved quickly to keep up, establishing development programs like the NextGen team. The goal is to foster a highly professional training environment for its best young athletes to grow into future Olympic champions. The ‘Park & Pipe’ team, as it is known, is comprised of Slopestyle and Halfpipe athletes identified as having high medal potential in 2022.

The program was established through a collaborative partnership between Freestyle Canada, the CSI Calgary, WinSport and Own the Podium (OTP). The program operates under a camp-based model where the athletes come together in one location frequently throughout the year for intense training camps.

“We’re here because of the facilities,” says Freestyle Canada’s Director of High Performance Athlete Programs, Julie Stegall. “The half-pipe is the best in the country and is maintained at World Cup standards. Freestyle Canada and WinSport have put a lot of resources into that pipe.”

The CSI Calgary recognizes the importance of establishing a high standard of care and professionalism for the team. “We really worked hard to treat them like a National Team,” explains Miranda Sallis, Manager of Performance Services. “Before the team started training at CSI Calgary there was a high injury rate so things like physiotherapy have been a huge focus so far,” she adds.

With their sights set on the Olympics in 2022, Stegall says the level of professionalism among the athletes and coaches is impressive. “The athletes are ready for this kind of support,” she says. “We knew this was coming and we have a strong group. Things are brewing in the pipe.”

For Moffat, 18, the chance to train alongside athletes from different sports has been an eye-opening and inspiring experience. “At first it was funny to see how the other athletes train. I’d be in the gym and look over at the bobsledders running down the track dragging weights behind them,” he recalls, laughing. “At first it was a bit intimidating, like ‘I don’t deserve to be here’, but now it’s really motivating to train alongside those guys.”

Stegall says the NextGen athletes are extremely thankful for their new training facilities. “Every time they walk into the CSI Calgary they feel special and are so appreciative of the opportunity.”

Moffatt says he’s ‘stoked’ to be a part of this team and that it doesn’t get any better than where he is now. “The hill is awesome. The Halfpipe and Slopestyle setup is amazing. We have everything we need in one spot.”

The NextGen Freestyle athletes are vying for Canada's coveted World Cup spots to prove they have what it takes to make it on the world stage.

Canadian Sport Institute Calgary: @csicalgary
Written by Kristina Groves: @kngrover
Photo by Dave Holland: @csicalgaryphoto
07/12/16

Gluten-free, detox and cleansing diets, K-tape, cupping, homeopathic vaccines, cryotherapy, IV therapy – sound familiar? These are but a few of the plethora of popular, yet completely baseless, health and sport trends that currently pervade popular culture. So says scientist, author, speaker and debunker of pseudoscientific health claims, Dr. Timothy Caulfield.

As keynote speaker at the 11th annual Own the Podium SPort INnovation (SPIN) Summit, Caufield, Canada Research Chair in Health Law and Policy and Professor in the Faculty of Law and the School of Public Health at the University of Alberta, highlighted the danger that accepting health practices based entirely on pseudo science can have on society, as well as athletes and the sport community at large.

“There is an incredible amount of bunk and pseudoscience out there, which makes it incredibly difficult for people to access the real science,” explains Caulfield. He says there is a tolerance for pseudo science across all sectors of health, which has led to an erosion of critical thinking.

The message was strong and pointed – be careful. Dr. Jon Kolb, Director of Sport Science, Medicine and Innovation at Own the Podium, who invited Caulfield to speak at this year’s summit says, “The message that Caufield delivered is that athletes, coaches and managers need to recognize and be very careful about what is brought into their programs.”

For more than 250 of Canada’s top sport scientists, researchers, medical professionals, executives and coaches attending the summit, it was a message that strongly supports a philosophy which underscores the work they do – making decisions based on sound evidence. The CSI Calgary was a major contributor to the SPIN Summit, providing a number of in-house expert speakers.

The focus on evidence can be challenging when there is a need to blend the art of coaching with the science of sport. For Dr. Erik Groves, Research and Innovation Lead at the CSI Calgary, one key takeaway from the conference came from a presentation by Mike MacSween, Executive VP of Major Projects at Suncor.

“The simplest way to approach differing opinions and areas of expertise is to centralize on facts,” said MacSween. “Once that is accomplished it is much easier for people to come together.”

This opens the door for true collaboration, another theme that has come to characterize SPIN and the way in which the Canadian sport community works together. For Groves, the goal of SPIN is to share. “It’s about raising the bar, raising expectations and being open to collaboration,” he says. “We’re all in this together.”

Frank Van den Berg, CSI Calgary Director of Mental Performance agrees. “We share with each other what we are working on” he says. “It’s also an opportunity to foster critical thinking and discussion – we don’t only have to share our successes but our challenges too.”

“We’re much better collaborating than not,” adds Kolb. He says that it’s an opportunistic time in Canadian sport, with so many good things going on and emphasizes that collaboration is a big part of that.

Ultimately, the conference helps to bring together the Canadian sport community for the advancement of sport. “It’s a responsibility within high performance sport, which is a niche on it’s own,” says Kolb. “We will only grow if we grow as a sport science community together.”

Trust science, work together and reap the rewards. The evidence is conclusive!

Canadian Sport Institute Calgary: @csicalgary
Written by Kristina Groves: @kngrover
Photo by Dave Holland: @csicalgaryphoto
23/11/16

Some of the best advice Phil Abbott, CSI Calgary cycling coach, ever got was, “don’t ever be in the photo with the athletes!” He took these words to heart, guiding his philosophy of creating an athlete-centric training environment that ensures he is not the center of attention when his athletes succeed.

“It’s about the athlete, not the coach,” says Abbott, also the head coach of the Alberta Bicycle Association. Except when it is about the coach – as it is with the Petro Canada Sport Leadership Awards gala, which recognizes Canada’s most dedicated, inspiring, and successful coaches.

Annually, award recipients are honoured for exemplifying the values and competencies of the National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) and for their influence in positively shaping the Canadian sport community.

At the recent awards held in Richmond, BC., Abbott won a Petro Canada Coaching Excellence Award for his work with Paralympic cyclist Mike Sametz, who won a bronze medal at the 2016 Paralympic Games. These prestigious awards recognize coaches whose athletes have excelled at World Championships, Olympic and Paralympic Games, and the Special Olympics World Games.

Despite his humble approach, Abbott acknowledges that the honour is appreciated. “It feels pretty good to be recognized by your peers, to know that your work is noticed.”

Wrestling Canada coach Paul Ragusa, who helped propel CSI Calgary athlete Erica Wiebe to Olympic gold in Rio, was also recognized for his coaching success. “It feels great to win the award,” he says. “It’s a great honour. It’s something that you never think about until it happens.”

Over the years, Abbott and Ragusa have developed and honed their coaching skills with help from experts at the CSI Calgary. Both credit access to experts like exercise physiologists, nutritionists and strength trainers for expanding their knowledge and skills.

Ragusa says that the chance to work closely with experts from the CSI Calgary helped him to formulate and ask the right questions. “As a coach I’m always trying to find that edge and having access to these experts is really helpful,” he says.

For example, having access to an exercise physiologist helped him collect objective data, something he didn’t focus on before. Ragusa says, “having this data often backs up what I might be thinking intuitively. I’m a better coach now that I can see the data and understand what the rational is behind some of the work we are doing.”

Abbott’s experience is very similar. He credits the CSI Calgary with fostering access to a variety of experts. “Once I was in my new coaching role, a lot of opportunities opened up and I had the chance to work with physiologists and nutritionists. This really accelerated my development as a coach.”

It’s not just CSI Calgary service providers that have contributed to coach development, but also partnerships with other organizations that have allowed program integration. Abbot explains, “It is a unique situation where the CSI Calgary is integrated with the velodrome and the provincial cycling program – being able to manage that relationship continuity between all programs and entities is valuable, everything is aligned. This benefits me and my athletes.”

For Ragusa the partnership between Wrestling Canada and the CSI Calgary has been very positive, especially in terms of establishing an IST (Integrated Support Team). “The team is more consolidated now and together we build a formalized plan that ensures the things we are all working on match up. As a coach it has helped me in terms of leadership, bringing everyone together.”

Jason Sjostrom, Director of Coaching Services at CSI Calgary, adds, “We have strong partnerships and we are very proud of that. These coaching awards are an example of that strength.”

Despite being content to remain in the shadows of their athletes’ success, coaches like Abbott and Ragusa are inspiring and worthy of the honour they have earned. It’s nice to see that sometimes it is about the coach.

Canadian Sport Institute Calgary: @csicalgary
Written by Kristina Groves: @kngrover
Photo by Dave Holland: @csicalgaryphoto
30/11/16

Juggling full-time school, training, and working a part-time job at a local coffee shop is a lot to manage for a young athlete. Slalom kayaker Ryley Penner is doing just that - which is why he’s thrilled about recently getting a little boost to help him on his way. The U23 national team member and CSI Calgary athlete is one of this year’s three recipients of the ARC Resources Inspiring Excellence Scholarship.

In partnership with the Canadian Sport Institute Calgary, ARC Resources, a leading conventional oil and gas producer located in Calgary, awards three $2,500 scholarships annually. The goal is to inspire excellence by enhancing academic and athletic opportunities available to student athletes. The purpose of the scholarship is to lower financial barriers and enable student athletes to reach their full potential while also being strong and valuable members of the community.

Wayne Lentz, ARC Resources Vice President of Strategy and Business Development, says the scholarship targets youth sport and education. “We are looking for genuinely passionate athletes who are pursuing sport and education as well as giving back to their communities,” he explains. “They are humble about their accomplishments and show balance in their lives.”

This year, ARC Resources is proud to award three scholarships to CSI Calgary athletes:

• Ryley Penner, Slalom Kayak
• Carla Shibley, Para Cycling
• Matthew Soukup, Ski Jumping

For Penner, who is in his first year of a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology at Mount Royal University, this scholarship means everything. “My sport is not well funded in Canada and I rely on scholarships like this to do my sport. I need to cover my expenses all on my own, which is really challenging,” he says.

Penner plans to use the funds for races next year, including the World Championships in Slovakia. The scholarship will also allow him to do more training camps and attend the senior national team trials in Whistler next May.

Carla Shibley is a Paralympic cyclist who was diagnosed at age ten with Stargardt disease, an inherited form of juvenile macular degeneration that causes progressive vision loss. Shibley has big goals of representing Canada at the Paralympics in Tokyo in 2020 and is working towards qualifying for a World Cup this season. She plans to use the scholarship to help fund her education – she is pursuing a Youth Justice diploma in Criminology at Bow Valley College.

Despite her disability, Shibley has never been one to let herself be limited by her vision loss and credits her mom with not letting her use it as a crutch. “My vision is deteriorating and I’m slowly going blind,” she says. “Deep down it’s a scary feeling but I’m not going to let it get me down.” This kind of attitude and optimism are qualities that ARC Resources is proud to support.

The scholarships are awarded on both merit and financial need. It can be a huge relief for athletes like Shibley and Penner to receive financial support like this. “All the costs add up,” says Shibley. “It’s a choking feeling.” Penner agrees, “My sport is not very high profile so it’s difficult to attract sponsors. I have to work really hard to make it happen.”

It’s for this reason that ARC Resources keeps on giving. After six years of awarding the scholarships, the company has welcomed and enjoyed updates from past recipients, many of whom have moved on to successful new careers and are active members in their community.

ARC Resources is also grateful for the opportunity to partner with the CSI Calgary. Says Lentz, “We are very proud of this initiative and thankful to the CSI Calgary for helping us to keep it going,”

Canadian Sport Institute Calgary: @csicalgary
Written by Kristina Groves: @kngrover
16/11/16